Canadian Beatdown

I had a bad feeling about this Toronto series.  The Royals Radio pregame show had a discussion about how Toronto was floundering, had a weak lineup, and no real pitching depth in the rotation.  When you're the Royals, that kind of talk gets a Canadian flag thrown over your head while members of the Blue Jays run by and beat you in the stomach with a bar of soap in their socks...Full Metal Jacket style.  And make no mistake about it - after all the years of futility, the Royals are the MLB version of Private Pyle. 

As soon as I heard Scott Podsednik would be out of the lineup, having traveled back to KC to handle a personal matter, I thought we might be in trouble.  He's been the real spark in this lineup, hitting in the two position between DeJesus and Butler.  Then the news came across the airwaves that catcher Jason Kendall would get his first day off - another spark towards the bottom of the order.  The two of them were replaced by Brayan Pena (who had one at bat prior to Monday night's game) and Mitch Maier.  Ouch. 

Not to mention we have another sinkhole in the lineup with Alex Gordon back from his injury.  I have lost all faith in Gordon, and the fact that he's batting .167 (yeah, I know, small sample size so far) and has already struck out twice hasn't changed my tune.

Bannister has his first rough outing to top it all off, and we get an 8-1 loss at the hands of the Blue Jays. 

Looking at various articles this morning, I'm left wondering why Trey Hillman would want to keep Pods out of the lineup again today.  According to an article I found at Yahoo Sports, Hillman says he doesn't like to play guys who are traveling.  Well...okay...but would you rather have Pods in the two hole batting .457, or have to shuffle the lineup and stick Maier back in the bottom of the lineup so he can try to improve on his .100 average?  I say go with the guy hitting .350 points higher...but what do I know?  Yeah...Pods may be a little tired, but I think I'd take my chances.  And if he looks a little sluggish, well, you can always pull him.  Oh wait.  No...your hands are tied there, aren't they Trey?  I almost forgot Dayton Moore has screwed this roster up so badly that you're short handed on the bench because you have to carry 13 pitchers....

Speaking of 13 pitchers - why is Luis Mendoza (22.50 ERA, 3.25 WHIP) still on this roster?  Time to make room for another position player guys.  There is absolutely no point in having this clown continue to to give up three or four hits per outing.  Give your manager the roster flexibility he needs, Dayton.  Recall Aviles, or bring up Kila...do anything but let Mendoza continue taking a roster spot away from a more deserving player.  I think we've all seen enough.